Toddler dies when driver backs over her

SMICKSBURG — An 18-month-old girl was killed late Thursday afternoon when she was run over by a vehicle at her family’s home along Route 954 near Smicksburg, the Indiana County coroner’s office reported.

Martha Byler suffered crush injuries of her head and chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene by Chief Deputy Coroner Chad Dill at 6:25 p.m., the report says.

The coroner’s office said the accident was reported to the Indiana County 911 center at 5:01 p.m. Byler was fatally injured after her father unloaded tools and equipment from the bed of a pickup truck, and the driver then backed the truck and accidentally hit her.

The driver “heard a thump, thinking it was a rock … (and) discovered Martha unresponsive near his rear passenger wheel,” the coroner’s office reported.

The news release did not identify the others involved in the accident.

Citizens’ Ambulance Service paramedics, LifeFlight helicopter, the Dayton fire department and state police were dispatched to the scene, according to the Indiana County 911 website.

Troopers at the Punxsutawney station released no information about the accident this morning.

The Pro Bowl wide receiver will have an appeal hearing with NFL officials in New York on Aug. 1, a person with knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.